ALONE
by Reptile Volkin
Summary: Still in the works, but this is a story about the remaking of Metal Sonic. Called a tragedy at the moment because I don't really know what to call it. Don't know if it'll be a tragedy yet. Fresh off press, so expect a lot of grammer\spelling mistakes.
1. Nostalgic

**It's been a while since my last entry here. Rather than waiting until the story is finished (which would be smart), I'm going to publish it here as it gets done...and probably fix the mistakes I make as I go along. This is a story about Metal Sonic. I intend to make it far more darker than my last entry (Old Wounds), so it's not for the faint of heart. Infact, I'm still playing around with a few ideas in my head**

**Okay, some background info: This story is set in the Sonic X universe, but I do refrence a lot of classical elements of Sonic, so if you don't understand what I mean, then please ask. It's four years after Cosmo died. Infact, it's been four years since Robotnik (Eggman) tried anything to capture Emerald Hill Zone. This is why it's quite the surprize when metal Sonic appears and attacks Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails.**

**Well, that's all I really have to say. Hope you enjoy the story.**

**___________________**

**ALONE**

Part 1~Nostalgic

In the begining there was nothing. A black void where no memory or pain existed. Then there was red and black. Nothing else existed but the red and black that formed the figure of an obese doctor with a twisted dream. The second that the blue spine-covered machine saw these images, he knew what he had to do. Somehow, he knew that there was a hedgehog named Sonic before the doctor mentioned it. He also knew that there would be no peace for him as long as this hedgehog lived.

So the metallic replica of Sonic the hedgehog set off to find the original with only one thought in it's mind: homicide. What the metal hedgehog wasn't expecting was that the hedgehog had so many friends. Sonic seemed like a worthy opponent alone. With all his friends behind him, he was indestructable.

Metal Sonic's last few seconds of life was Sonic's shoe coming down fast on his face. Too fast to stop.

Then there was nothing again. The black void had swallowed him again, taking away the frustration of being unable to kill Sonic. The nothingness that was metal Sonic's new life didn't seem to last long. It was as if a few moments passed...

...when in reality, three months had passed.

* * * * *

Metal Sonic lay battered and broken on the ground, his skull crushed by Sonic's shoe. Knuckles, a red echidna with who had lost his temper just moments ago, stood over the metal corpse with a wrinkled nose. A two-tailed fox stood nearby, looking down at the metal hedgehog with a gleam in his eye.

Sonic the hedgehog, now twenty, looked his metal counterpart in disgust. Four years had passed since the last time Robonick had tried to kill Sonic. The years hadn't changed Sonic much at all. He still wore the same red shoes and white gloves, but now his quills were slightly longer and he had a single bang hanging down from his forehead. He also had a scar across his chest from an accident in Tails' lab, but he didn't mind it. He had saved the fox's life by moving him before the tornado's blades chopped the kitsune in half. He'd do it again if he needed to.

"Do you think it was Eggman?" Knuckles asked, using the doctor's long-used nickname. Other than increased muscle mass and braided hair, the echidna hadn't changed much either. He cracked his massive knuckles, looking as if he wised metal Sonic had put up a bit more of a fight.

"I doubt it," Tails said, looking at the metal replica with a spark of interest in his eye. The twelve year old fox who was wise beyond his years was slowly coming up with an idea of how he could use this pile of scrap. Tails was the one who had went through the most dramatic change. His voice was slightly darker and the white fluff was dissapearing from his belly. There were now only white spots to remind him of a time his whole stomach had been covered. The fluff was now only on his chest, standing out amongst the yellow fur. Tails had also smoothed out his bangs, flatening his hair and giving his head a rounder appearance. It made him look more intelligent.

"Tails is right," Sonic decided seconds later, "We havn't heard anything from the old man since he stopped hunting us down four years ago. There's no reason for him to want us dead again."

"He might be feeling nostalgic," Knuckles interjected, "Dreams don't just dissapear. Remember how obsessed he used to be? How crazy he drove all of us when he just...stopped?"

He didn't need to remind anyone of the time after Robotnik's dissapearance. Every mobian in the Emerald Hill Zone was so tense in the few months afterward that almost no one walked the streets. Soon afterward, the paranioa wore off and all the mobians slowly forgot that Robotnick had even existed...

...and because Robotnik was no longer a threat, Sonic and his friends were no longer needed. It didn't take long for the other mobians to start charging them for every luxery that had gotten out of curtiosy. Sonic no longer had a house and now lived with the sixteen year old Amy, who was barely able to avoid forclousre herself. Tails had to downgrade his lab and even sell off his Tornado a year ago to pay rent. The only one unaffected was Knuckles, but this was only because he lived in solitude on Angel Island.

"I don't know," Tails said, interupting the silence that had befallen them, "Robotnik is unprdictable...maby it is just a stray?"

Sonic rubbed his quills. He didn't want to think of the doctor returning to his old self and attacking the people of Emerald Hill again. No, he _wouldn't_ think of Robotnik attacking the people of Emerald Hill. It was just too...hopeful. The idea of going back to his old life, where everyone wanted his autograph, was just too bright a prospect to the cold reality that the Sonic team lived now. This had to be a fluke.

"I think it's a glitched robot, guys," Sonic said, kicking his metal counterpart in the rib one last time.

"Can we bury him, then," Knuckles asked with a grin, "I want to practice on a dumby before I put the real thing eight feet under."

"Don't you mean six feet?" Tails asked, fighting the impulse to roll his eyes.

"No," Knuckles replied.

"Do what you want with him," Sonic replied, crossing his arms in annoyance, "Just stay away from the fridge if you come by later. Amy is already tight on money, and I don't know if I can hold down my current job long enough to replace everything you eat."

Knuckles hopped once, preparing himself to lift Sonic's heavy metal counterpart. Tails scratched his chin, his grin spreading. Perhaps...

"Knuckles, can I please have him?" Tails asked, a creative glint in his eye.

Sonic and Knuckles exchanged questioning looks before Knuckles replied, "Wanna trade?"

Tails grimmanced. He had a bad feeling that he'd be parting with more than just a few trinkets...

* * * * *

After three long hours of negotiation, Tails managed to get metal Sonic's corpse at the cost of a generator, a TV, a DVD player, and his entire DVD collection. That was quite the sacrifice considering that Tails had sixtey-three different DVDs.

He stared at the crushed skull of metal Sonic, deciding that it would be best to just scrap the old design all together and replace the crushed piece. He sighed, wondering again why exactly he thought it was such a great idea to take the blue robot from Knuckles. He saw so much potential in this blue-blur doppleganger...

...but it was wasted. Robotnik was no longer a threat. All the gizmos and gadgets Tails could install to the new metal Sonic would be of no use. Missle detectors wouldn't be needed if there were no missles. Super-speed was pointless if there was nothing to outrun. A clever mind was no better than a stupid one if there were no rival to compare it with.

The twelve year old fox rubbed his hand down his face, resting it on his snout as he thought of those times long ago, when his genius was actually needed. Now it was being wasted. The mobian government wouldn't sponser someone his age, despite the degree he had received when he was ten.

There was another reason that Tails couldn't get work inventing. Ever since Cosmo's death, Tails had to take medication to fight off his depression. Even though they never said anything to his face, Tails knew that they were afraid that he'd need medical support. They didn't want to have to pay for his problem.

So, now the twelve year old fox sat in a battered wooden chair in a small room crammed with inventions that no one would ever use. It was almost impossible to walk and if it weren't for a small wooden table that held the tools, Tails would be totally lost in the room full of bitter memories.

Before Tails had any idea what he was doing, he had taken metal Sonic's head off of it's battered body and set it on his small desk. He examined it, taking it apart piece by piece. There wasn't much new in this machine. Tails was rather dissapointed in Robotnik. He expected an evil genius to learn from his mistakes and try to improve rather than try the same trick over and over again...

That was when he found the memory chip. It was small, stuck inbetween two pieces of machinery that didn't belong together. This greatly confused Tails for quite a few minutes. Why would Robotnik place such a valuable piece of equipment in a place that it didn't belong?

Tails walked out of the small lab, going into the even smaller toolshed that he conisidered his house. It wasn't as messy as the lab but it was twice as claustrophobic, everything being inches apart from one another. His kitchen was a micro-wave and a minifridge that sat next to a computer that was placed next to the bed which was right next to the door. Above the door was a shelf full of blue-prints, which would have been in his lab if he had room for it...

Trying not to imagine his "house" shrinking anymore, Tails sat at the small chair by his computer. He examined the chip a little more, being cautious. It could be a hacking tool of some sort. What would Robotnik do with the information stored on his computer.

Then again, what would Robotnik do with a hundred and thirty straight pages of fanfiction? Tails grinned.

He put the chip in his computer and waited to see if anything would pop up. A movie program opened. The chip had recorded video feed of everything that metal Sonic had seen. Well, it was called a memory chip...

Suddenly, Tails was staring at a very familiar face. He jumped, almost falling into his bed when he realized that he was staring at Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Tails felt his fur stand on end. He hated this man so much...

The fat man with the orange mustace laughed at the screen. The sound quality was horrible. Tails might as well have been listening to nails on a chalkboard for all this was worth. He rambled on for about twenty minutes.

"Once you deal with Sonic," the red and black Robotnik said to the screen, "then I can unleash my real plan. That hedghog and his friends will never see it coming!"

Tails felt his pulse quicken. He leaned foward in the chair, waiting for Robotnik to spill his guts. That's when the picture jumped to metal Sonic fighting Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails.

Tails didn't know how he should have felt at that very moment. Scared that Robotnik was back? Stressed that there was something else up Eggman's sleeve? If anything, Tails felt happy. No, that wasn't the word. He felt...

Nostalgic.

Tails ripped the chip out of his computer and ran to Sonic's house. Even though it began to rain, the twelve year old fox didn't care. He couldn't wait to tell Sonic!

The old Sonic team was back!


	2. Revival

**Alright, here's chapter two. Sorry this took absolutely forever. I had sorta lost intrest in fanfiction for a while and tried something else. Anyway, doing my best to keep the storyline going in this chapter. Enjoy.**

**Part 2~Revival**

Tails didn't get as much enthusiasm out of Sonic as he wanted. When the blue hedgehog saw the video, he couldn't help but to be skeptical.

"This can't be right," he said after seeing the video once, rewinding on his computer to veiw it again.

"Why not?" Tails asked, his euphoria wearing off. The cold rain had extinguished his excitment as easily as it would have a flame. It had also cleared his head a litlte. The only reason that Tails was so happy about the situation was the idea of being the hero again, and maybe returning to how things were before Robotnik had become inactive.

Sonic, however, didn't like that idea at all. Going back to his old lifestyle would just spoil him rotten again. He still had trouble holding down normal jobs to earn money. He remembered the irony of how he was fired from being a postman. It was hard not to break the speed-limit when he didn't have any way to tell how fast he was running. Besides, he realized that the movie on the chip had to be fake.

"Well," Sonic said, answering Tails's question, "It's been four years. You don't think Robotnik here would have grown a little? He still looks like he did four years ago."

Tails hadn't noticed that, but Sonic was right. The doctor hadn't aged a day in the video.

"Also," Sonic continued, pointing to something in the background, "do you realize who this is?"

Tails had to strain his eyes before he realized that he was looking at Shadow the hedgehog. The red and black vision that the computer played on the screen made it very hard to see the ebony hedgehog in the background, but there was no mistaking who it was. It had been four years since the last time anyone had seen him, and like Robonik, it seemed as if Shadow hadn't aged a day.

"Shadow could be back..." Tails stated quietly. He knew that this was an old video now, he was just grasping at anything that would keep the sense of nostalgia alive. He really missed hanging out with Knuckles and Sonic during the times that the three had to stop Robotnik. Tails just missed how close they used to be...

"Sorry buddy, but I find that hard to beleive," Sonic said, handing the memory chip back to Tails. He was going to finish with a _You shouldn't be so paranoid, Tails,_ when he saw the look of utter dissapointment on his friend's face. Tails was like a younger brother to Sonic, so seeing him so dissapointed really tore his heart. It only took him two seconds to realize why he was so let down. He missed hanging out and being a part of the team.

He, like Sonic, missed being useful.

Sonic rubbed his hand though his quills, a habit that he had obtained when he lost his house and had to move in with Amy. He didn't want to hurt Tails's feelings, but he didn't want to lie to him either. Then an idea came to his head.

"Well," he said, pretending to be a little concerned, "You could be right. I'm not convinced, though. Still, we can't afford to be caught off gaurd. Why don't you build a sentinel robot, Tails? That would allow us to rest easy but still be alerted when something turns up."

Tails grinned from ear to ear. He saluted Sonic as if he were a soldier, blurting out, "Yeah! I can do that!" before running out of the door. Sonic sighed the second the fox was out of sight. What was he going to do with him?

The twelve year old kitsune went straight to work on the robot when he returned to his home. The metal skull was damaged beyond repair, so Tails constructed a new one using scraps from a failed flying-camera device he had tried to build. He sighed when he realized that the whole upper torso was useless now that the head weighed more. Modifing the torso lead to having to fix the legs so they could support the new metal Sonic. Eventually, Tails also modified the android's arms due to having rebuilt almost every other part of the robot.

The entire process took the better half of two months. It was during a particularly sleepless night that Tails had found the time he needed to finish rebuilding metal Sonic. Tails realized that his reincarnation of Sonic wasn't complete. If he had used the same memory chip that Robotnik had originally inserted, then he'd have a rampaging metal Sonic on his hands. No, he needed to reprogram it.

So began Tails' reconstruction of Robotnik's memory chip. The fox could have just programmed it to look for signs of other robots, but that was below him. No, he needed this to be one of his better inventions. He had to prove to himself that he was still as great an inventor as he had been when he built the Blue Typhoon.

The giant ship had been given to Team Chaotix after the Sonic team had fallen from grace. The public felt that Vector, Espio, and Charmy did better deeds for their community than Sonic now that Robotnik was out of the picture. That's when the team announced that they wanted to search for something on another planet. Espio had managed to talk Tails, who was nine at the time, to hand over the Blue Typhoon to them so they could set off.

They weren't seen again after their departure three years ago.

Tails worked on the micro-chip that Robotnik had placed in metal Sonic for a full month. Deciding that it would be best to have another mobian guarding the city rather than just a cold, unfeeling robot, the fox had arranged the chip in a manner that allowed the machine it was inside to feel emotions like any other mobian could. It would be like having another Sonic around, but with a totally different personality.

Tails realized the faults of this technology, but figured that it balanced out in performance. Since Tails couldn't program the robot's emotions or personality, there was a slight chance that the robot would become evil. Still, the android couldn't compare to how fast the real Sonic could run, even if it could reach a full 205mph. Not to mention the benefit it would have if the android functioned correctly. This would allow Tails to see how a morally aware android would react to it's enviroment.

Though, he wasn't so sure that the people of Emerald Hill would react so kindly to a friendly metal Sonic, considering all the havoc that viscious ones had caused. Tails shrugged, figuring that they would get used to it.

Inserting the memory chip in place, the two-tailed fox stood back as he watched as his creation slowly came to life...

There was a jarring awarness that assulted him from the endless black nothingness he had known for a few moments. Something arose from within, a feeling that the machine had never known before...

Panic.

The robot was suddenly aware that this state of mind was it's end. There was no more life it could give, no more strength in what was once it's limbs. Then brilliant light flooded the black, the two counterparts seeming to fight for control. It took the android only moments to realize that even the black nothingness somehow glowed. It was then that the robot realized what it was staring at.

Static.

Panic was replaced by hope, a new and incredible emotion for the previously deactivated robot. It found that it could run check-ups on it's systems and realized that it was perfectly fine.

Better than fine, it was reborn. The static then gave way to color and the color soon became pictures of the enviroment, showing the robotic hedgehog a cramped room filled with many different, obviously unused machines. More importantly, it showed the andriod a two-tailed fox standing nearby. He was staring at him with a look of pride and accomplishment in his eyes.

Metal Sonic looked down to examine it's new body. It was much more natural looking, using a brillant design to mimic the look of a real hedgehog's body. Infact, from far away metal Sonic would actually have appeared to be a real hedgehog. Up close, however, the differences were obvious. There were small screws in several places, including the cheeks; and the elbows had an indention where the bones were supposed to meet, showing the inside mechanism that allowed them to bend. The knees were also odd, spouting plates to show where the knee was supposed to be. The last noticable difference was how his eyes were solid black with red pupils.

The robot looked up at Tails again, realizing that the fox had done this to him. He felt gratitude...

...Then he felt pleasantly surprized that he had _felt_ at all.

A smile appeard on metal Sonic's face, though the mechanisms that allowed his face to flex in such a way was yet another surprize to the newly activated android. He brought his metal hand to the back of his head and rubbed his quills, surprized yet again when he found how real the quills felt.

Quills...

Then he remembered looking straight up as Sonic's foot came down to crush his skull. All gratitude was erased in that instant, replaced by suspicion and anger. His once bright smile was replaced by a scowling glare that seemed to cut right through Tails' soul.

The fox backed up in fright, tripping over an old generator and falling on several other inventions. His heart was pounding as he looked into the bright-red eyes of what he thought was to be his killer.

Instead of attacking however, metal Sonic asked, "What is the meaning of this? Why have you rebuilt what you thought to be your enemy?" His voice sounded suspiciously like Sonic's, just deeper.

Tails gulped, trying to spit out his explanation before his heart leaped out of his chest, "I-I built you to b-b-be my scout r-robot! I even i-installed the e-emotions chip so you w-wouldn't feel like a r-robot!"

Metal Sonic looked at the twelve year old fox curiously. "You did not program me not to kill you," he stated bluntly, making the hairs on the back of Miles' neck stand on end, "I find that quite odd considering that only moments ago I tried to eliminate you."

Tails rubbed the back of his head, now wondering if he had erred when he decided that he wanted to give this robot a choice to join them or not. "Y-yeah...wait a minute, I reprogramed your memory chip! That should have eradicated all of the past memories you had!"

"Yet it did not," metal Sonic stated, tapping his index finger to his head. "I think this was a small mistake on your part, but you may have reinstalled the same memory banks instead of replacing them." The robot then held out his hand to help Tails up.

The young fox took his hand and allowed him to help him up. "Perhaps...does this mean you're gonna try to kill me now?" Tails asked, carefully taking a step backward.

Metal Sonic shook his head no. "I am in your debt. You have saved me. So to repay you, I will not kill you or your friends. Be wary, however, for if Robotnik orders me to kill you again, I will have no choice other than to try a second time to erradicate you."

Tails gave metal a strange look, then managed to hide the fact that he had done so by pretending to have stepped on a painfully sharp, metal tool. "Ow," he said, faking pain as well as he could, "jeez...so...I guess this means you won't help us?"

Again, metal Sonic just shook his head no. "I must be going. Good fortune to you, fox."

With that, the metal Sonic impersonator was out in a flash, running across the fields with his rocket powered shoes.

What the new metal Sonic didn't know was that Tails had him bugged.

Not that it mattered. Metal was heading to the destroyed headquarters of what used to be Robotropolis, where he wouldn't find Robotnik or anyone else.

Nothing but dust.


	3. Alone

**Not completely sure why I came back to the story, but I hope you all enjoy this chapter, if you're even paying any attention to this developing thing. Sorry it took so many months to focus my scatterbrained mind back to completeling only a piece of the story.**

Part 3~Alone

"Isn't this great, Sonic!" an excited pink hedgehog asked. Time had been moderatly kind to the sixteen year old Amy Rose. She was an average girl with a figure slighly better than others her age and a plain face. Her quills stretched down to her shoulders in an attempt to woo Sonic after reading a rumor on the internet about how he liked long haired girls. She wore a red T-shirt and rather tight blue jeans.

She looked over at Sonic, who seemed unimpressed at how the birds near the fountain gathered in such great numbers at night. Amy still had strong feelings for Sonic. This would remain true to the end of her days and she was certain that he would one day share those strong feelings for her. After Sonic had lost his house, Amy tried not to be so crazy around him. What he needed was a friend not a fanatic, so that's what she tried to be.

This resulted in Sonic being more friendly toward her and even going out with her. He refused to call it a date, but Amy secretly thought of their walks that way. This was just one of those walks.

"Uh, yeah," Sonic replied, answering her question. He remembered the time he had tried to eat here five years ago with Amy and Tails. He had to leave because everyone was crowding around them for autographs. He rubbed his hand through his quills, trying to return to the present.

"Is something wrong, Sonic?" Amy asked, recognizing that sign.

Sonic opened his mouth to answer her, but a passing wind made him shiver. He looked up at the surrounding buildings just in time to see something jump across them. His eyes narrowed as he tried to make sense of what he saw. It had appeared to be his metal doppelganger again.

...No, it had to be his mind playing tricks on him again. It couldn't have been metal Sonic again...could it?

His thoughts were interrupted by Amy again. "Sonic!" she pleaded, a little paniky, "What's wrong!"

Sonic went to rub his hand through his quills again, but realized he was about to and managed to stop the action. "I just thought I saw something," he responded, rubbing his eye.

He didn't allow Amy to press the issue, walking foward so fast that Amy had to jog to keep up with him.

Sonic refused to beleive his eyes.

Sonic refused to beleive that he would be needed by the people who rejected him again.

...

The moment that metal Sonic had left his lab, Tails rushed to his own house. He wasn't going to tell Sonic that he had screwed up, feeling that he actually hadn't screwed up anyway. As long as metal Sonic didn't hurt anyone, Tails' project would be a success.

Well, metal Sonic had ran away. Maybe it was already a failure?

Tails pushed the thought out of his head, opening his door and slamming it so hard that his blueprints scattered through his room. He stepped on a couple getting to his computer. He booted his PC, activating the bug program. Metal Sonic was travelling too fast for the vixen to pursue him properly. He could only watch as the doppelganger ran through the nearby Emerald Hill zone, through the city and beyond. He was unaware of Sonic and Amy's midnight stroll.

Tails watched the blip on his screen head for the Metal Wasteland Zone. That area was all that was left of Robotropolis. Tails agonized for several minutes about what he would do about metal Sonic if the machine returned. No gun would harm his robotic body, given that the bullet even made contact with the super fast metallic creature. Calling Sonic would put his best friend in harm's way, not to mention pushing off his own responsibility onto someone else.

Tails rubbed both hands through his hair, watching the screen with a look of intrest mixed with worry. If anything happened to anyone, their blood would be on his hands.

_As if Cosmo's wasn't enough already._ he thought somberly.

Tails missed the sunrise. He had been staring at the screen for hours on end, tracking metal Sonic's every whereabout. He was convinced that metal Sonic would not kill anyone without Robotnik ordering him to. He was also sure that metal Sonic would be furious when he found out what happened to Robotropolis.

So, he devised a plan for metal Sonic's eventual return. He just hoped that everything would turn out okay.

...

Metal Sonic's thoughts kept returning to his own identity. He was perplexed at how he did not want to be known as "Metal Sonic" anymore. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the first word more than the second. _Metal_. That sounded like a better name to him. Generic, unspecial, but hard as iron and damn near impossible to break.

He realized the futility of trying to get the doctor to call him only Metal, the obesse man being too proud to shorten the name of his invention. Though, he wasn't technically the obesse man's robot anymore, was he?

As he exited Emerald Hill Zone and began his trek through the Jungle Zone to Robotropolis, three signs of the city's collapse emerged. The first was the amount of trace material in the air above the trees. Metal slowed down to a walk now, scanning the air and realizing that the material in the air was ashes, causing the darkening of the sky as he got ever closer to his destination.

The second sign was more embarassing. A bird overhead decided to answer a call of nature right as Metal passed under it, his feces landing smack dab on his forehead. Metal wiped the excertment off, realizing that the appearance of animals in the area so close the Robotropolis was very unlikely.

The third and final sign was the most unnerving to the android. An outpost for Robonik's machines was completely overrun with grass and wildlife. The sight of the metallic building unsettled Metal the greatest. He stopped and watched it for a minute, stunned. His database was updated, so he knew that this outpost was supposed to be used to keep the plants and wildlife at bay, away from Robotropolis. To see it so still now...

Metal ran the rest of the way, the tall grass and trees giving way to a barren waste. He saw the valley that housed Robotropolis, the deep decline made it impossible to spot Robotnik's city. For a moment, Metal thought nothing had changed, that everything was as it once was and he would be by his former creator's side again soon.

That's when he got to the lip of the valley and saw the devastation inside the natural walls.

The bowl-like valley had a thick layer of ash floating around inside it because of the winds, but that did nothing to hide the destroyed buildings of the city. Devastation as far as his eye could see, Metal slowly looked to the middle of the war-torn city, toward the tower that was used by Robotnik to keep watch over it.

It was severed half way, the top half having crushed many of the buildings in it's path when it fell.

A sense of desperate panic brought on by the loss of his former master caused Metal to leap into the valley and run toward the valley. His robotic vison betrayed him, showing every second in precise detail, every android body in the ash, and every creature of the flesh that desecrated the holy ground of the machines. Yet, he held on to one sliver of hope.

The tower.

Despite being destroyed, the tower was Robotnik's biggest pride. If he hoped to rebuild, then he would remain inside it or close to it. To make sure it wasn't the later, Metal ran a circle around the tower, scanning for any sign of movement. When he found none, he ran inside the tower. Thinking that Robotnik would be too smart to return to the top of the tower where he'd be the easiest target for an areial assault, he looked for a trap door on the main floor that would lead underground. Having found no such entrance, he rushed up stairs.

The top of what remained of the tower was his only hope.

Even if it wasn't Robotnik, someone or something had to be there!

Android, mobian, human, or alien, _someone_ had to carry on Robonik's legacy!

Metal stopped at the top floor.

The room was empty and bare. The altitude and lack of possessions in the room caused the wind to howl and assualt Metal's ears with the sounds of despair. Ash covered the floor as it seemed to do the entire city. Metal walked to the middle of the room, looking up at the blackened sky with a bottomless hole in his heart as he slowly realized that he was all that was left. All the others were destroyed where they stood or fled somehow.

Metal fell to his knees, not looking away from the sky. If he could've cried, then he would have wept silently at the loss of such a great empire. His metal brothers in arms were no more. His leader had vanished off the face of the earth. His utopia had been destroyed, though by what he was still unsure of.

All of that paled to the comparision of his greatest realization. His solitude.

He was all alone now.


	4. Pieces

Part 4~Pieces

Thirteen hours had passed since Metal had escaped. In his lab, Tails frantically searched for one of his older inventions, pushing aside mounds of useless machines. It was true that no bullet would hurt metal Sonic, but Tails didn't want Metal damaged. Rather, he wanted him incapacitated.

The invention that Tails was searching so frantically for was known simply as the EMP-Gun, or electro-magnetic pulse gun. The sudden burst of magnetic energy from the gun would incapacitate Metal. It would fry his circuts as well, making him forget everything about what little past he had. This would allow Tails to rebuild him and erradicate what loyalties he had to Robotnik.

The real problem, besides actually finding the gun, would be getting close enough to use it. Metal would be out for blood, possibly rushing in before Tails had any indication that he was even in the vicinity. The machine didn't have a pride like Sonic did, so he wouldn't feel bad about attacking Tails while he had his back turned.

Hell, Metal could be on the way as Tails searched his lab!

That thought only made the twelve year old panic more as he wafted through an ocean of machinery, looking for his needle in a haystack.

...

Metal wasn't sure about what he should do next. The pavment didn't cause any dicomfort for his knees, allowing him to bask in his own misery for as long as he needed to. He finally tore his eyes away from the sky, looking at the floor as if it held some cryptic answer of what fate wanted him to do next. He found no such thing, however, only thinking about how he was the only surviving creation of Robotnik's once tall and powerful empire.

Did this mean he would be the one to ressurect it? Did Robotnik in all his wisdom foresee that his empire would fall, ironically constructing a robotic clone of his most hated enemy to rebuild it?

...No, Metal decided. The obesse man was too proud to make a look-alike of his enemy the messiah of his empire. Metal took a breif moment to contemplate what little he remembered of his past.

Those fragments of information he had swirled about in a confused, almost incomprehensible order. He had to really focus to make out some of the finer details, but he came up with a conclusion. His activation was an accident. The memory of Robotnik was prerecorded, maybe for a different version of a cybernetic Sonic the hedgehog, taken a few years ago when Sonic and his friends were considered heros. Metal must have been a fail-safe, an extra version of another metal Sonic to finish the job if the original failed. Still, the original metal Sonic had fallen long before Metal's activation, so why had it taken so long for life to find Metal?

Must have been a malfunction on his part. Metal scratched his head and tried to focus a little harder. He only remembered running out of a lab. Still, he did not beleive that his circuts had just decided at random to begin working. No, someone must have manually activated him. Coincidence seemed the most logical explanation. Then again, a hope filled Metal that perhaps something bigger was happening. Maybe someone had accidentially activated him, or someone had activated him on purpose to enlist him with Robonik.

Staying on top of the tower wouldn't solve anything. Metal rubbed his face, an action that was unnecessary. He had meant to rub the tears off his face, but he hadn't been crying because he was an android...

He didn't dwell on that subject any longer, standing up and planning his next move. Metal figured that running out and causing a massive amount of mayhem would draw enough attention that everyone would realize where he was, including those who activated him. It would also draw in Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles again. Remembering his last fight with the three, he knew that it would be a bad idea to do anything to anger them again.

Of course, Tails had been the one to reactivate him after they had beaten him.

Perhaps being a double-agent would prove more sucessful than totally ignoring his enemies. Not only would he be able to keep a close eye on anything they would encounter, but perhaps he could even cripple their defences before he changed sides.

...On another side note, if his activation was a total fluke, then perhaps aiding those he once fought against wouldn't be as bad as being completely alone.

Metal preferred the double-agent option more.

With the pieces of his broken life picked up, Metal turned toward his new destination...

...

Tails watched his computer screen. It had been a whole day, but metal Sonic wasn't moving as fast as he had before. No, he was taking his sweet time walking back. Tails had his EMP gun loosely in his hand, not wanting to be taken by surprize by Sonic's cybertronic double. His eyes narrowed on the dot that showed metal's progress as he pondered not for the first time about why he was moving so slow.

Tails' door opened suddenly.

His heart leapt, both his hands came up, pointing with the EMP gun at the figure in his doorway as fast as he possibly could. Tails' thoughts buzzed in his head like an angry hornet's nest:

_How did he-!_

_When did he-!_

_-hacked the system, maybe why so slow!_

_-son of a-!_

_-so much faster, never pull trigger in-!_

After about half a second, his brain registered that he wanted to pull the EMP's trigger. His claustrophobic home's entrance was close enough to his current position for the gun to be effective. The shockwave that occured knocked out his lights and passed right through the hedgehog standing in the doorway. Tails still gripped his EMP gun in a vice.

"Tails? Buddy, what's the matter?"

Sonic!

Tails slumped in releif, resting the gun on his lap. He chuckled a bit at his own stupidity. "You scared the crap out of me, Sonic," he admitted, turning back to his computer.

The screen was off. He cursed silently, realizing the shockwave must've kicked off his power. He needed to get to the transfomer and-.

His lights turned back on suddenly, so did his computer. Tails rolled his eyes, realizing Sonic beat him to the punch. He turned back to his concerned friend, Sonic's speed allowing him to be back before Tails even realized he was gone. The sunlight behind Sonic surprized Tails a bit. Had he sat there through the night again?

"Tails, it's been two days," he said, concern in his voice, "where have you been?"

Sonic's concern burned Tails a little, making him slightly annoyed. "Here," he answered a little more sharply than he meant to, "looking up the best ways to shampoo my hair and make my tails a little more fluffy. Why so worried? It's only been two days."

"I'm not worried," Sonic answered, his voice reflecting Tails' annoyance, "I'm here because you said you wouldn't miss dinner with me and Amy yesterday. When you didn't show, Amy thought you just forgot. It's too bad you weren't there, Cream even showed up."

_Oh, that's right. I totally forgot._

Tails rubbed his hand on his head, sighing. He realized how much that reflected Sonic's habit, so he ceased as quickly as he could. He thought breifly of telling Sonic what he had done, though the look on Sonic's face slowly changing to suspicion suggested that the hedgehog was already half-way to his own conclusion. "I did forget," Tails finally responded before the hedgehog could say anything.

Sonic didn't wait for Tails to say more, responding with an accusing, "Something's wrong."

"No, I ju-," Tails started.

"Don't give me that shit," Sonic said, cutting his friend off, "You're on edge, you've got a gun with you, and you shot at me on sight. The last time this happened, you had made something that you couldn't control."

It was true, this wasn't Tails' first rouge robot. Still, he didn't want to involve Sonic or any of his friends in this mess. He shook his head. "I assure you that nothing is wrong, Sonic," he told his best friend.

"...Fine, don't tell me then," Sonic said a little bitterly, "I'll just be at Amy's if you need something." With that, the blue hedgehog took off into the day.

Tails sighed with exhaustion. Pushing his friend away from him and his problems placed a light burden on the small fox, reminding him of how little he had actually slept the past couple of days. Not only that, but the small fox couldn't remember if he had taken his medication that morning. He focused with all his might, trying to conjure up a memory of taking the pills, but could not do so. Not wanting to overdose by accident, the fox just decided not to take any.

The exhausted fox turned back to the computer screen just in time to see the dot rocket past Station Square, into Mobius, right toward Tails' house. Tails' jaw dropped. Metal would be there any second!

The door opened suddenly, soundlessly. The only warning Tails had was the gust of wind on his back caused from the door. He tried to turn around, raising his gun a second time to fire. Small doubts clouded his judgment. Thoughts about the actual Sonic or any other harmless visitor made him skeptical, made him slower. It didn't matter, however. Even without such doubts, Metal was much too fast for the boy.

The gun was crushed by Metal before Tails was able to get it into the proper position to fire it. The android loomed over Tails, his red eyes looking down threateningly. Tails gulped, wondering what Metal was going to do to him after he had tried to shoot him.

The agonizing seconds ticked by. Adrenaline caused by the panic of Metal's appearance made Tails' ears ring. He could act, but he knew he wouldn't be fast enough, not nearly strong enough to take on the robot either. Finally, Metal spoke to the frightened boy.

"I need a place to stay."


End file.
